2010 Fiesta Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
game was a post-season college football
bowl game
between the #4 TCU Horned Frogs
, champions of the Mountain West Conference
, and the #6 Boise State Broncos
, champions of the Western Athletic Conference
. The game was played Monday, January 4, 2010, at University of Phoenix Stadium
in Glendale
, Arizona
. The game was part of the 2009–10 Bowl Championship Series
(BCS) of the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season
and was the concluding game of the season for both teams involved.
For the second consecutive year, TCU and BSU faced off in a bowl game of historic significance. In the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl
, TCU and Boise State played in the first non-BCS game ever in which both teams were ranked higher than both participants in a BCS bowl game in the same season (specifically the 2009 Orange Bowl
), with the Horned Frogs winning 17–16.
The historic milestones of this game were:
Because both non-"automatic qualifier" teams
were placed in the same bowl game, the bowl was derisively referred to as the "Separate But Equal
Bowl", the "Quarantine
Bowl", the "Fiasco Bowl", the "BCS Kids Table", etc. Some had called for a boycott because of this. There was wide speculation that the BCS bowl selection committees maneuvered TCU and Boise State into the same bowl to deny them the chances to "embarrass" two BCS conference representatives in separate bowls, as Boise State
had done in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl
and Utah
had done in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl
and 2009 Sugar Bowl
(up through 2010, non-AQ teams were 3–1 versus AQ teams in BCS bowls). In response executive director of the Fiesta Bowl John Junker called those allegations "the biggest load of crap that I've ever heard in my life" and said that "[w]e're in the business of doing things that are on behalf of our bowl game and we don't do the bidding of someone else to our detriment." Beyond the unappealing nature of "David vs. David" contest which resulted from this pairing in a major bowl, the appeal was further diminished due to the fact that it was a rematch of the Poinsettia Bowl from the previous season
, played only 12-13 months earlier.
In the weeks prior to the game, a different controversy arose when past and present employees made public allegations that the Fiesta Bowl had made illegal political campaign contributions.
WWE personality John Cena
was the Grand Marshal
and the coin tosser for the event.
The Broncos won the game by a score of 17 points to 10.
threw a 30-yard pass to Kyle Efaw to keep the drive going, which ultimately resulted in Martin's touchdown run.
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
game was a post-season college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
between the #4 TCU Horned Frogs
2009 TCU Horned Frogs football team
The 2009 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented Texas Christian University in the 2009 college football season. The team was coached by Gary Patterson. The Frogs played their home games at Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs finished the season...
, champions of the Mountain West Conference
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
, and the #6 Boise State Broncos
2009 Boise State Broncos football team
The 2009 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 2009 college football season. The Broncos played their home games at Bronco Stadium, most famous for its blue artificial turf surface, often referred to as the "smurf-turf"...
, champions of the Western Athletic Conference
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
. The game was played Monday, January 4, 2010, at University of Phoenix Stadium
University of Phoenix Stadium
University of Phoenix Stadium, opened August 1, 2006, is a multipurpose football stadium located in Glendale, Arizona. It is the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League and the annual Fiesta Bowl...
in Glendale
Glendale, Arizona
Glendale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, located about nine miles northwest from Downtown Phoenix. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 226,721....
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. The game was part of the 2009–10 Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
(BCS) of the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season
2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on September 2, 2009, progressed through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in Pasadena, California on January 7, 2010, featuring the...
and was the concluding game of the season for both teams involved.
For the second consecutive year, TCU and BSU faced off in a bowl game of historic significance. In the 2008 Poinsettia Bowl
2008 Poinsettia Bowl
The 2008 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl was the fourth edition of the college football bowl game, and was played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The game started at 5 PM US PST on Tuesday, December 23, 2008...
, TCU and Boise State played in the first non-BCS game ever in which both teams were ranked higher than both participants in a BCS bowl game in the same season (specifically the 2009 Orange Bowl
2009 Orange Bowl
The 2009 FedEx Orange Bowl game was the 75th edition of the annual college football bowl game known as the Orange Bowl. It pitted the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference champion Virginia Tech Hokies against the Big East Conference champion Cincinnati Bearcats on January 1, 2009 at Dolphin Stadium in...
), with the Horned Frogs winning 17–16.
The historic milestones of this game were:
- For the first time ever, two teams from the "non-BCS" or "non-AQ" (automatic qualifying) conferences earned BCS bowl berths in the same season. Accordingly, this was the first BCS game ever to feature two such teams.
- For the first time ever, a "non-BCS" or "non-AQ" team was selected via an at-large invitation (BSU). (TCU earned an AQ bid via rule 3 of the BCS selection rules.)
- Also for the first time ever, two unbeaten teams squared off in a BCS game other than the National Championship GameBCS National Championship GameThe BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, is the final bowl game of the annual Bowl Championship Series and is intended by the organizers of the BCS to determine the U.S. national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision...
. - Boise State became the second team in Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) history to finish the season 14–0 (the other team being the 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes2002 Ohio State Buckeyes football teamThe 2002 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was the national champion of the 2002 college football season. The team was the first in Division I-A history to finish its season at 14–0, and the second to win 14 games, following BYU's 14–1 season in 1996...
. Alabama2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football teamThe 2009 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 77th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference and its 18th within the SEC Western Division...
became the third team to go 14–0 three days later).
Because both non-"automatic qualifier" teams
BCS conference
An Automatic Qualifying conference is an athletic conference in NCAA Division I FBS whose champion receives an automatic berth in one of the five Bowl Championship Series bowl games...
were placed in the same bowl game, the bowl was derisively referred to as the "Separate But Equal
Separate but equal
Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law that justified systems of segregation. Under this doctrine, services, facilities and public accommodations were allowed to be separated by race, on the condition that the quality of each group's public facilities was to...
Bowl", the "Quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
Bowl", the "Fiasco Bowl", the "BCS Kids Table", etc. Some had called for a boycott because of this. There was wide speculation that the BCS bowl selection committees maneuvered TCU and Boise State into the same bowl to deny them the chances to "embarrass" two BCS conference representatives in separate bowls, as Boise State
2006 Boise State Broncos football team
The 2006 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 2006 college football season. The Broncos won the Western Athletic Conference championship with an undefeated 12–0 regular-season record , their second unbeaten regular season in the past three years...
had done in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl
2007 Fiesta Bowl
The 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game played as part of the 2006–2007 Bowl Championship Series of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season...
and Utah
Utah Utes football
The Utah Utes football program is a college football team that currently competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision of NCAA Division I and represents the University of Utah. The Utah college football program began in 1892 and has played home games at Rice–Eccles...
had done in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl
2005 Fiesta Bowl
The 2005 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, played on January 1, 2005, was the 34th edition of the Fiesta Bowl. The game was played between Utah and Pittsburgh, in front of 73,519 fans. It is notable for being the first BCS game to feature a team from a non-BCS conference, and the only BCS bowl to feature a...
and 2009 Sugar Bowl
2009 Sugar Bowl
The 2009 Allstate Sugar Bowl was the 75th annual edition of the annual college football bowl game that is part of the 2008–09 bowl season of the Bowl Championship Series 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season...
(up through 2010, non-AQ teams were 3–1 versus AQ teams in BCS bowls). In response executive director of the Fiesta Bowl John Junker called those allegations "the biggest load of crap that I've ever heard in my life" and said that "[w]e're in the business of doing things that are on behalf of our bowl game and we don't do the bidding of someone else to our detriment." Beyond the unappealing nature of "David vs. David" contest which resulted from this pairing in a major bowl, the appeal was further diminished due to the fact that it was a rematch of the Poinsettia Bowl from the previous season
2008 Poinsettia Bowl
The 2008 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl was the fourth edition of the college football bowl game, and was played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California. The game started at 5 PM US PST on Tuesday, December 23, 2008...
, played only 12-13 months earlier.
In the weeks prior to the game, a different controversy arose when past and present employees made public allegations that the Fiesta Bowl had made illegal political campaign contributions.
WWE personality John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
was the Grand Marshal
Grand Marshal
Grand Marshal is a ceremonial, military, or political office of very high rank. The term has its origins with the word "Marshal" with the first usage of the term "Grand Marshal" as a ceremonial title for certain religious orders...
and the coin tosser for the event.
The Broncos won the game by a score of 17 points to 10.
Scoring summary
| Scoring Play | Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Quarter | |||
| BSU — Brandyn Thompson 51 yard interception return (Kyle Brotzman Kyle Brotzman Kyle Brotzman is an American football kicker for the Utah Blaze of the Arena Football League.-College career:He played for the Boise State Broncos. A former walk-on, he became the Broncos' starting kicker and punter.... kick), 11:40 |
BSU 7–0 | ||
| 2nd Quarter | |||
| BSU — Kyle Brotzman 40 yard field goal, 8:02 | BSU 10–0 | ||
| TCU — Curtis Clay 30 yard TD pass from Andy Dalton Andy Dalton (American football) Andrew Gregory Dalton is an American professional football quarterback for the National Football League's Cincinnati Bengals. He played college football at Texas Christian University... (Ross Evans kick), 0:49 |
BSU 10–7 | ||
| 3rd Quarter | |||
| TCU — Ross Evans 29 yard field goal, 3:52 | TIE 10–10 | ||
| 4th Quarter | |||
| BSU — Doug Martin rush for 2 yards TD (Kyle Brotzman kick), 7:21 | BSU 17–10 | ||
Highlights
The key play of the game came in the fourth quarter when, faced with fourth down from their own 33, Boise State pulled off another Fiesta Bowl trick play, this time a fake punt, known as " The Riddler". Punter Kyle BrotzmanKyle Brotzman
Kyle Brotzman is an American football kicker for the Utah Blaze of the Arena Football League.-College career:He played for the Boise State Broncos. A former walk-on, he became the Broncos' starting kicker and punter....
threw a 30-yard pass to Kyle Efaw to keep the drive going, which ultimately resulted in Martin's touchdown run.